What to know about Boston's proposed Madison Park school rebuild - and why some in Roxbury say it's a step backward

"Boston is walking back its plans to turn a long-vacant parcel in Roxbury into a life-sciences hub and affordable housing, with city leaders looking to put the redevelopment on hold while they consider building a new Madison Park vocational high school at the site. The reversal has been met with sharp criticism from some in Roxbury, where community leaders spent decades helping shape the long-awaited redevelopment."

"Appearing on "Boston Public Radio" Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu said the redevelopment "was not happening on its own" due to the economics, not the Madison Park rebuild. She further suggested the developers' pitch to subsidize affordable housing with lab space has become a "pipe dream" in today's economy. "It's time to come to terms that those promises are not able to be delivered on by that developer, and now we are finding a way to actually make something work," she said."

"Roxbury residents who learned about the change of plans at a community meeting last week said that while they welcome a revamped Madison Park school, they also want the economic development they were promised. "On the one hand, everyone wants to see Madison Park win," said Armani White, executive director at Reclaim Roxbury, an organization partly focused on building wealth in the community. "On the other hand, we also want to see the community development that we selected also win.""

Boston plans to pause redevelopment of Parcel P3 in Roxbury, a 7.7-acre long-vacant publicly owned plot, to consider siting a new Madison Park vocational high school there. The original plan combined life-sciences lab space with subsidized affordable housing, but declining demand for lab space and economic feasibility concerns have undermined that model. The pause has jeopardized a roughly $700 million Madison Park rebuild and drawn sharp criticism from Roxbury community leaders who helped shape the redevelopment and who say the change removes agency from the Black community. Residents express desire both for a revitalized vocational school and the economic development originally promised.

Read at Boston.com